Project Summary/Abstract State Medicaid programs have been at the forefront of value based purchasing and other policy initiatives to incentivize better long-term care quality. (Arling et al., 2009; Briesacher et al., 2009; Miller et al., 2013; Werner et al., 2009). These programs link Medicaid payment to nursing home performance on standardized quality measures, fund provider-directed quality improvement projects, or offer a bonus for exemplar facilities meeting high quality standards. Indiana University Center for Aging Research and Minnesota Department of Human Services propose to sponsor an invitational, one and one-half day conference on long-term care value based purchasing for 50-75 state policy makers, long-term care researchers and other stakeholders. The primary purpose of the conference is for research and development: to develop health services research agendas and identify strategies and mechanisms for studying them. Secondarily, we will: (a) disseminate and implement health services research information and tools for formulating or evaluating health policy, and for managing health care programs; and (b) develop partnerships with stakeholder organizations and build their capacity to participate in research activities and using the results f health services research. The aims are: The conference is an excellent opportunity to disseminate findings from our AHRQ-funded project, Evaluating a Comprehensive State-Level Model to Improve Nursing Home Quality, by opening up a dialogue with other states and leading researchers in long-term care. The aims of the conference are to: Examine the state of the art in LTC Value Base Purchasing program design, funding, performance measurement, and evaluation; Share and document experiences of states that have undertaken LTC VBP programs and researchers who have studied these programs; Promote an active dialogue among conference participants, including states that seek to develop new LTC VBP programs; and Prepare a report for publication that summarizes conference proceedings and can serve as a resource for LTC VBP development or refinement.